The Woman on the Painted Horse by Angela Christina Archer

August 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HORSE
The Woman on the Painted Horse by Angela Christina Archer
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (223 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Camellia

Alexandra Monroe is a slave smuggler, smuggling slaves north to Tennessee where they can live as free people. Her crime is sedition and her punishment, if caught, is death. The daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Montgomery, Alexandra lives a life not by her own accord, but a life she willingly accepts for her secret quest to save the lives of slaves. Her ultimate sacrifice is to marry the town’s most eligible bachelor, Thomas Ludlow.

One afternoon, Alexandra comes face to face with handsome William Graysden. He captivates her, and her thoughts confuse her. Born a Creek Indian, not only is William forbidden because of his race, but also because Alexandra is a closely betrothed young woman. William and Alexandra fascinate one another, finding in each other a bond they don’t wish to ignore. After a series of events; however, William is forced to face the choice to continue the dangerous pursuit of Alexandra’s affections or forget about her.

The Woman on the Painted Horse is set in one of the saddest times of United States history, the Civil War. It is a suspenseful, rather cruelly dramatic story that tests the mettle of true love to its limits.

Alexandria Monroe’s world is one of privilege in outward appearance. In reality, it is fraught with malicious gossip, horrifying secrets, and clandestine business dealings that are little more than human trafficking for money, position, and power. Alexandria’s parents are willing to force her into a loveless marriage in order to maintain their lifestyle.

She is to wed Thomas Ludlow who is from a wealthy family. His actions toward Alexandria are shocking even for the times. His cruel use of his power and position make him an antagonist that is really easy to hate.

William Graysden, a Muscogee Indian, is totally unsuitable for Alexandria to even look at much less find irresistible. Yet, the two of them take one look at each other and make a connection that seems unbreakable. Only in secretive darkness are they able to explore their heartfelt desire for each other. Both ethnic groups oppose their relationship which brings on appallingly cruel treatment.

Alexandria leads a double life that could get her hanged for treason. She helps slaves escape to freedom. There are adrenaline-pumping times in the story that has one reading as fast as she is running with the dogs hot on her heels.

Since the story is told from Alexandria’s point of view, the reader gets to see her compassion for the blacks and comes to understand why she feels the way she does. I was horrified by how her unloving mother punished Alexandria by beating Sarah, the black woman who loved and cared for Alexandria. Of course, it did keep Alexandria obedient because she loved Sarah who had always been more of a mother to her than her biological mother.

Ms. Archer gives the reader a hard look at conditions in Montgomery, Alabama during this historical time. The love story threads through the novel, but much of the story is about prejudice and social conditions of the time. To me it would have been more enjoyable if the love story had been developed more. Also, I felt I had missed a chapter between the climax and the time Alexandria, William, and the disenfranchised people they took with them came to settle in Tennessee.

The Woman on the Painted Horse is written in a way that makes it easy to read. It is an attention-keeping, memorable story of racial strife that shows humanity at least than its best.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Poison Ivy by Misty Simon

July 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

IVY
Poison Ivy by Misty Simon
Ivy Morris Mysteries, Book One
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (228 Pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Ivy Morris may be an adult, but she still lives at home with her widowed father long after her sisters have all left — until she gets a letter with the words “your inheritance” offering her a home and a business of her own 3000 miles away.

When she arrives to assume her new life as homeowner and proprietress of a popular costume shop, she is bombarded by a slew of people looking for the perfect outfit for the upcoming Harvest Ball. Between overpowering biddies and stolen lingerie from the worst-kept-secret side of the business, things get even more complicated when a woman is murdered at the ball–a woman wearing the same costume as Ivy.

With the help of her new friends, including a cute guy trying to rev up his journalism career to private eye status with this mystery–and revving up her heart in the process–she must solve the murder before someone succeeds in the quest to poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy is a light romance with a bit of mystery on the side. Twenty-four year old Ivy Morris has just moved from California to Kilmarnock, Virginia after inheriting her great aunt’s house and business, a popular costume shop. She is thrilled to be moving out of her father’s house and finally getting a place of her own. Kilmarnock is a small town and Ivy quickly makes friends with Bella, a hair-dresser, and Ben Fallon, the food critic for the local newspaper who has just completed an online course to become a private investigator.

The story is told from Ivy’s point of view and her point of view is definitely focused on Ben’s delicious body. Ben seems equally taken with hers, but the romance keeps getting waylaid by various mysterious events. There is a burglary at Ivy’s store, The Masked Shoppe. There are threatening phone calls. One of her new friends, Janice, is murdered the same night that Ivy meets her. And then one of Janice’s clients is threatening her lawyer about getting his files back.

Ivy decides that she will investigate on her own, but then she quickly teams up with Ben. It is Ivy, however, who solves the mysteries, and once the danger is over, Ivy and Ben are sure that they will have time for just them. Sure, that is until Ivy reveals that her father is arriving for a visit of indeterminate length.

This is a fun romp, and the mystery isn’t really difficult to solve. The characters are fun and Ivy’s perspective on them let’s the reader learn more about Ivy as well as the other characters. Both Bella and Ben prove themselves to be good friends to the newcomer in town.

If you are looking for a quick romantic summer read, with just a hint of mystery, then why not give Poison Ivy a try.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Moccasin Trace by Hawk MacKinney

July 29, 2014 By 10 Comments

moccasin trace

Moccasin Trace by Hawk MacKinney
Publisher: Archebooks
Genre: Historical
Length: Full (237 pgs)
Heat: Sensual
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Snapdragon

… it was about the land…a tale of love and loss and hope…

“The most engaging and brilliantly crafted historical work since Margaret Mitchell’s great classic.” Barbara Casey Author, The Gospel According to Prissy

Hamilton Ingram looked out across the fertile Georgia bottomlands that were Moccasin Hollows, seeing holdings it had taken generations of Ingrams to build. No drop of slave sweat ever shed in its creation. It was about the land…his trust, his duty to preserve it for the generation of Ingrams to come…

It is July of 1859, a month of sweltering dog days and feverish emotional bombast. Life is good for widower Rundell Ingram and his Hazel-eyed, roan-haired son, Hamilton. Between the two of them, they take care of Moccasin Hollows, their rustic dogtrot ancestral home, a sprawling non-slave plantation in the rolling farming country outside Queensborough Towne in east Georgia. Adjoining Ingram lands is Wisteria Bend, the vast slave-holding plantation of Andrew and Corinthia Greer, their daughter Sarah, and son Benjamin.

Both families share generations of long-accepted traditions, and childhood playmates are no longer children. The rangy, even-tempered Norman-Scottish young Hamilton is smitten with Sarah, who has become an enticing capricious beauty—the young lovers more in love with each passing day, and only pleasant times ahead of them.

But a blood tide of war is sweeping across the South, a tide that might be impossible to stand before.

Charm marks Mackinney’s civil war-era romance: The charm of the south, the built-in, home grown sort of charm that happens in families that rely on one another, and among people who strive to maintain their own sense of self in such times. There is much here on the strength and gentility of specific personalities that have struggled through such a difficult time.

Mocassin Trace is full of the sense of old time southern flavor–war torn and struggling, but somehow still sweet. Conversations, from tone to choice of language help create an aura of ‘old time south.” Hamilton and his lovely Sarah are our main characters, and both are refreshingly human. They are nice people, obviously attracted, but also, human and flawed. They aren’t the sort of characters, nor have they the sort of relationship, that keeps one madly turning the page, but they are interesting, if a bit precious.

Although the story ‘starts’ in 1865, events can happen at different times: more than once I was confused as to whether I was reading something that had happened, or was looking forward to something that was going to. This story is both their marriage and their courtship, and there’s no concern on giving away the romance, as it sets off with them married. They run in to their share of troubles, and that is the more unpredictable piece.

In this work, oddly enough, some secondary characters are greater and more appealing than the main characters. The wisdom of Corinthia shines through whenever she appears, and her voice seems so authentic. “Although my place is here, I can’t put away thoughts of other mothers and daughters weeping for sons and loved ones and husbands they may never hold again. It’s the same dread I felt when you had whooping cough. That whole dreadful night Bessie and I sat up praying for you…”

And author Mackinney has a deft hand with humor as well, and makes the most of a turn of phrase (For example: We don’t want you mopin’ like some cow off its feed. from Bessie, who has a whole different slant on Wisdom.)

Those interested in the era will find this book heartwarming.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Saving Raine by Frederick Lee Brooke

July 25, 2014 By 9 Comments

RAINE
Saving Raine by Frederick Lee Brooke
The Drone Wars: Book 1
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (258 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Matt, Raine went to California because her parents thought it was safe. It’s not. You’ve got to get her out as soon as possible. She could die, Matt.”

When 19-year-old Matt Carney gets a cryptic message from his father telling him to go to California and save his girlfriend, Raine, he doesn’t hesitate—he grabs his AK-47, revs up his blue pickup, and gets ready to make the 2,300-mile roadtrip.

But cross-country travel in 2021 isn’t easy—or, sometimes, even possible. The U.S. has become a near-military state: 17,000 checkpoints severely restrict interstate movement, Predator drones target innocent civilians without cause, and explosions rock cities daily. Matt and his stepbrother, Benjy, face deadly attacks from a corrupt government, ruthless local law enforcement, and bloodthirsty terrorist groups as they embark on their trek. They’re about to find out that their trip is much more than a private journey, and their success could change the face of the country—forever.

Can Matt and Benjy outrun the drone missiles raining down on their heads? Can they avoid assassination by government officials hell-bent on taking over what little is left of the country? Can they outsmart the deadly schemes set in motion against them?

Break the rules.
Save the girl.
He only gets one chance before she’s gone forever.

It’s easier to make a promise than it is to keep it, but Matt has never been the type of person to go back on his word.

Dystopias are one of my favourite sub-genres of science fiction. Projecting how current trends could go horribly wrong in the future is fascinating, especially when the author isn’t afraid to criticize more than one political party in the process. The world-building in this one was strong, consistent, and occasionally pretty scary.

The antagonists in this story are fairly flat characters. In some cases their reasons for opposing Matt were hard to understand because their actions didn’t match what they seemed to want from him. Everyone has contradictory moments, of course, but with such limited information about their personalities I had trouble understanding why they made certain choices.

Matt is a well-developed and sympathetic protagonist. What I found most interesting about this character is how his flaws interact with the plot. He has more than his fair share of them, but because they’re so well-integrated into everything else that’s going on they felt like natural extensions of the complex personality of a guy who has seen more than his fair share of troubles.

There were so many shifts in perspective that they occasionally slowed down my perception of how fast the plot was moving due to the extra time I needed to figure out who was speaking now. I understand this is the first book in a series, and I suspect that some of these shifts might make more sense in the future. As it was written, though, this particular tale would have worked better for me if it had limited itself to one or two speakers.

The romantic subplot fits in well with everything else that’s going on. Matt and Raine’s relationship has had to adjust to a lot of changes , but it was easy to imagine how they interacted with each other before she moved away due to the letters and other written forms of communication they’ve swapped.

Saving Raine is an adrenaline-soaked adventure that kept this reader’s attention from beginning to end. If you like dystopian fiction, give it a try!

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Captive by Grace Burrows

July 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment

CAPTIVE 2
The Captive by Grace Burrows
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (415 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Peppermint

Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, is captured out of uniform by the French, and is thus subject to torture. Christian does not break, not once, and is released when Toulouse falls. Back in England, Christian has great difficulty taking up the reins of his life until Gillian, Countess of Windmere, a relation of his late wife, pointedly reminds him that he has a daughter who still needs him very much—a daughter who no longer speaks. Gilly pushes, pulls, and drags Christian back to life, and slowly, she and he admit an attraction to each other.

Christian offers Gilly marriage, but Gilly is a widow, and has fared badly at the hands of her first husband. Gillian will not pledge her heart to a man bent on violence, for Christian cannot give up his determination to extract revenge from his torturer. What will it take for them to give up their stubborn convictions and choose each other over the bonds of the past?

Gillian knew that society expected her to be in mourning over her late husband, but instead of mourning, she found herself intrigued and pinning for the Duke, Christian Severn, so damn what society would say.

Christian’s captivity certainly changed him, in some ways the worst, in others for the better. I am not sure if this is what made Gillian want to know more about him, but it made me interested. It was clear that he came to appreciate things such as family, honor and freedom a bit more than he previously had. It also made a made suspicious of those around him, and in need of some physical healing. In some ways he reminded me of stubborn toddler in need of assistance, but determined to do things on their own. Luckily Gillian seems to be up to the challenge, and as a bonus she loves children including Christian’s daughter.

Gillian was a character that I had mixed feelings about. I liked her new founded independence, but with it seems to come a disregard for her own welfare. It seemed at times she was so worried about standing on her own two feet, that she failed to seek or accept help when needed. For example, there are a few times when her life is possibly in danger, and she seems to just brush it off, or not want to admit the severity. This frustrated me, because I just could not imagine someone being so careless with their life.

The romantic development with this story was right on point, and I really enjoyed how the author incorporated Christian’s daughter in the story. In more than a few cases Christian even used Gillian’s love for the girl to help win Gillian’s heart, which I found amusing. It seemed as if Christian new exactly what to do when it came to winning Gillian over, except when it came to him seeking revenge, but even then he tried to keep it from Gillian, and protect her at all costs, even if from himself.

While the story was a bit difficult to follow in the beginning, once I figured out the characters, I was able to enjoy the story. I even got to meet a few supporting characters that I really enjoyed and hope to see more of. This is a true redemption story, which kept me entertained for hours.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

When Swallows Fall by Gloria Davidson Marlow

July 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment

FALL
When Swallows Fall by Gloria Davidson Marlow
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (262 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Although Ophelia Garrett loved Cade Scott first, it was her sister he married and took home to his plantation. When Ophelia receives word of her sister’s murder and Cade’s arrest, she travels there on a mission to learn the truth. She soon finds the halls of Almenara are haunted by secrets, peril, and quite possibly her sister’s ghost.

Despite the cold, angry man Cade has become, Ophelia’s heart refuses to believe he is a murderer. Vowing to do everything she can to prove his innocence, Ophelia must open wounds she’d hoped were long healed and face the feelings that still burn between her and Cade. As everyone looks to Cade as the suspect, evil haunts the dunes and halls of Almenara, bringing death to two more young women and forcing Ophelia to confront the danger.

Ophelia was betrayed by the two people she loved most.

Ophelia is a sweet young woman who has every reason to be angry with her late sister and her brother-in-law, Cade. The first time she falls in love, her sister swoops in and steals the man away from her. My curiosity was immediately piqued. I wanted know what could have possibly induced Cade to marry Desdemona when he was clearly in love with Ophelia and then cut Ophelia out of their lives entirely. I eagerly dove into the pages searching for an explanation. The truth behind Desdemona’s betrayal is dreadful.

I have a lot of respect for Ophelia. Desdemona’s betrayal regarding Cade was simply the last in a long line of offenses she committed. It took a lot of courage to go to her sister’s funeral, investigate the murder, and face the man she once loved. It took even more courage to examine herself and acknowledge the very small part she played in the tragedy. I do think that Ophelia is a little too hard on herself. Desdemona and Cade are adults and clearly responsible for their own actions.

Ophelia is heart broken when she learns how unhappy Desdemona’s life had been. However, I had a very hard time sympathizing with Desdemona’s plight. Desdemona struck me as a cruel woman who rarely thought of anyone but herself. She used people and then tossed them aside when she was done. Her tragic situation was entirely of her own making. I couldn’t really sympathize with Cade either. I understand that Ophelia was called away from him when their romance was still young, but no one forced him to find comfort in the arms of Desdemona.

Ms. Marlow did a good job of weaving the mystery surrounding Desdemona’s death. There were a lot of plausible suspects. In fact, there were so many suspects that the sheriff’s insistence that Cade killed Desdemona as well as the other young women is completely ridiculous. With such an abundance of suspects, I was on the edge of my seat, and I didn’t figure it out until the very end.

Overall, I enjoyed reading When Swallows Fall. Its pages are filled with heartbreak, mystery, and love. Anyone looking for a story of tragedy and romance of Shakespearean proportions should give When Swallows Fall a try.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Texan’s Little Secret by Barbara White Daille

July 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

TEXAN
The Texan’s Little Secret by Barbara White Daille
Series: Texas Rodeo Barons- #2
Publisher: Harlequin American Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (244 pages)
Heat Level: sensual
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Thornapple

Hiding the Truth

Coming home might be the worst decision Carly Baron has ever made. Each minute on her family’s busy ranch is one minute closer to seeing him—her first love—the man who broke her heart seven years ago. While coming face-to-face with Luke Nobel again brings back painful memories, Carly quickly realizes there are other strong feelings just under the surface….

Luke would be a lot better off if Carly had stayed away. Being a single dad to an adorable two-year-old girl and managing the Roughneck is tough enough, but resisting the sparks that fly whenever he and Carly are together is near impossible. But first she must tell him her secret. The truth could heal their past…or forever destroy their chances of becoming a family.

Secrets. I love secrets…well in books, anyway. However, this secret is a really sad one and it’s a cross Carly has had to bear all alone for the last three years. The only reason she has come home is because of her ailing father. Seeing Luke has Carly falling back onto her “Wild Child” reputation in order to hide her pain.

She has loudly and proudly proclaimed that marriage and children are not for her. Part of her bold statement stems from her mother’s abandonment of her family and a large part of it has to do with Luke. Luke is now the head guy at the ranch and is trying to raise his two year old daughter alone, so as much as he might want Carly he couldn’t bring a woman into his life that didn’t want a family. The situation with Carly’s mom is one that has haunted her for years and she just wants to find her mother and perhaps gain a little peace. Understandable, but Carly’s problems really need to be addressed from within before she tackles that can of worms. Years of misunderstandings and pain are brought into focus and now as adults Luke and Carly have the chance to put the past into perspective and have a second change at love.

Now, if you have read romance novels to any extent you will have figured out this familiar trope. However this one does have a little twist in there which gives the theme an entirely different twist.

So, while the formula is a tried and true, I found it to be an enjoyable enough read, despite a slight amount of predictability. There were some real heart tugging moments and it was just a little angsty. Luke and Carly were more mature and adult than Carly’s crusty and interfering father. I’m still not sure how I feel about him. I could relate to Luke and to Carly. There are always two sides to a story. I think we can all relate to mistakes in our youth. That is part of the appeal of the second chance at love theme. When two people who were meant to be together beat the odds stacked against them, it’s always a feel good story.

If you like contemporary romance with a western tone, second chance love stories, and of secrets.. this one is for you.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Last Night in Ghosttown by Kathryn McKade

July 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment

 

GHOST
Last Night in Ghosttown by Kathryn McKade
Publisher: Eggplant Literary Productions
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (53 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In the Maharajah’s Consortium every aspect of citizens’ lives is monitored by the GRID. Throughout the galaxy, on every planet: money, property, even lives are tracked by General Resource Interactive Display. Everywhere, that is, except for Ghosttown. Ghosttown: slum, theme park, holy city, the city that time forgot.

Enter Dev. In five days he leaves for Misra 7, a planet entrenched in a war so deadly it’s known as The House of Death. So it’s one last hurrah before he ships out.

Despite being on a strict time table, Dev allows a would-be thief, Rishi, talk him into handing out expensive med-gems to the sick and needy. What Rishi gets out of this, Dev doesn’t know. What he does know is that he keeps putting off his departure date, and he can’t deny that Rishi is the reason.

Does Dev stick around for Holi, help the people trapped in Ghosttown, and risk getting branded a deserter? Or should he clear out before he gives up his heart to Rishi?

Anyone’s destiny can change in a moment. All it takes is the right decision…or possibly the wrong one.

The technological descriptions in this story left me wanting to know more. More than enough information was provided to paint an accurate picture in my mind of what they look like and how they function, but I was intrigued by the medical advances in particular. It’s difficult to discuss them without giving away spoilers, but there are some very cool treatments in this universe.

The character development was solid and consistent from beginning to end. Dev has experienced a lot of difficult things in his life as a soldier. While most of those memories are only briefly mentioned in this tale, his emotional response to them is so nuanced that at times this almost seemed like a biography instead of a work of fiction. It was almost as interesting to see how the secondary characters gradually reveal their complex backstories as well.

There were several terms that were never explicitly explained. While I figured out what they probably were through a handful of context clues in the plot, it would have been helpful to know for sure in a few cases due to how much time it took me to put all of the pieces together. This is my only criticism of an otherwise great story.

I didn’t want this tale to end. The world-building was so thorough that I almost felt as if I were watching it unfold in real time instead of reading about it. While I don’t know if Ms. McKade is planning to write a sequel, I’d be extremely interested in hearing more from these characters if she ever decides to revisit their lives.

Last Night in Ghosttown was such an enthralling read that I finished it in one sitting. This is a good choice for anyone who likes science fiction set in the distant future.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet by Charity Tahmaseb

June 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment

QUIET
The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet by Charity Tahmaseb
Publisher: Collins Mark Books
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (200 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sometimes staying silent is the biggest lie of all.

Sophomore Jolia does the one thing no one expects from the girl who has perfected the art of keeping quiet.

She joins the speech team.

Jolia can’t confess the real reason–not to her best friend, her new teammates, or even to crush-worthy rival Sam who offers to coach her in secret.

Keeping quiet might be the easy way out, but when what Jolia doesn’t say starts to hurt those around her, it might just cost her a best friend, her spot on the team, and even Sam.

But she isn’t the only one with a secret. It’s going to take words–her words–to make things right.

If only Jolia can find them.

The longer certain secrets are carried, the heavier they become. If only Jolia knew how to lighten her load.

I immediately sympathized with Jolia’s anxiety about her secret and what the reactions of other people might be if they figure it out. Her personality oozes out of every scene, and Ms. Tahmaseb did a great job at allowing readers to figure it out for ourselves instead of directly telling us what sort of person Jolia is.

It would have been helpful if more time had been spent showing why Jolia and Caro are such good friends. They don’t seem to have a lot in common, and their differences are a regular source of tension between them. Developing Caro’s character more fully would have made it easier for me to understand why she says and does certain things, and it also would have easily lead to a higher rating for this book.

Trying new stuff can be scary and exhilarating at the same time. My favorite scenes involve what happens to Jolia when she first begins competing alongside the rest of the members of her team. The author captures the highs and lows of participating in a public speaking event quite well, and I appreciated the fact that she wrote it from the perspective of someone who isn’t naturally good at it.

The romantic subplot never quite blended in with everything else that was going on in this tale. While the characters who are involved in it do have good chemistry, this story would have worked better if it had focused on developing a strong friendship between them first. Given their personalities and everything else that is happening in their lives, a romantic relationship between them would have made more sense in a sequel than in this particular story.

Mr. Henderson, the speech teacher, came across as a little gruff to me at first, but as I got to know him better I really liked him. Too often teachers are written as antagonists in young adult fiction, so it was refreshing to meet one who honestly cares about his students and wants to help them succeed. If Ms. Tahmaseb ever decides to write a sequel, I’d be interested in seeing what she does with this character as well.

The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet is a good choice for anyone who is shy or fears public speaking. It captures the fluttery feeling that develops when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone beautifully, and for this reason I recommend it to adult and young adult readers alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Heart of Eternity by N. Jay

June 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HEART
Heart of Eternity by N. Jay
Publisher: Mirador UK
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (71 pgs)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 2 stars
Reviewed by Hawthorn

When you are invited to dance with the muse of love, when you are driven to the edge by the pain of the past, when you hold the remedy for what ails you in your arms you will find yourself in the heart of eternity.

Set in the Blue Mountain’s town of Blackheath in New South Wales, Australia, the novel Heart of Eternity introduces two very different characters, Jay and Naida, who encounter each other at a challenging time in each of their lives. Their individual expressions of the feelings they provoke in each other give rise to a turmoil that could ultimately claim their lives. When two people understand so deeply the pain each other has faced will it force them into the abyss of darkness or will their combined need for healing allow love to enter both their hearts?

Heart of Eternity is difficult to classify in any genre. It’s romance, but it’s not really; it contains vestiges of the paranormal, it’s spiritual and passionate.

N. Jay wrote a philosophical tale of love and the fight between good and evil. Rather than fully-fledged characters, Naida and Jay are the metaphors for light and darkness. When they meet, they realize darkness can only exist in opposition to light, and vice versa. In short, they cannot live without each other. Rather than a light romance, this is a story of spiritual love. It is surprising on many levels.

While I’m glad I persisted and finished the novella despite a very slow start, I must point out that the pace is slow throughout, and the protagonists don’t meet until halfway through the story. The flowery writing style, particularly at the beginning, doesn’t help speed up the plot. “How I wish to sow the seeds of my prayers around the peripheries of your being and nurture it in the shade of my love, replenish it with the warmth of my tears and mark infinity on each of its blossoming flowerets with the ink of my blood.” It does sound poetic, but when used in speech, it also sounds unnatural, and in places it bogs down the narrative.

Without much action, the story manages to relate strong emotions, describing the ultimate sacrifice one human being is prepared to make for a loved one. More than a romance between two young people, this is a tale of a difficult inner struggle. Unfortunately, despite the strong message, the novella loses some of its force due to bad editing. I was particularly bothered by the numerous cases of ellipses and other punctuation mishaps, and several instances of head-hopping.

While Jay’s inner voices gave us a great insight into what motivates him, his past – the reason behind his darkness – was discussed too briefly, not providing a substantial enough explanation for his actions. Some of the scenes would benefit from more showing rather than telling, but the scenes between Naida and her uncle Zach which involved her healing were done captivatingly.

Don’t expect a straightforward contemporary romance if you pick up this book, but if you like a bit of the metaphysical and a pinch of the philosophical with your love stories, Heart of Eternity might be just the book for you.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,
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